Postgraduate Course: Constantinople: The History of a Medieval Megalopolis from Constantine the Great to Suleyman the Magnificent (PGHC11438)
Course Outline
| School | School of History, Classics and Archaeology |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | Constantinople, easily the largest and most splendid city of medieval Christendom down to the early thirteenth century, was adorned by the majestic dome of its famous cathedral church of Hagia Sophia - a landmark for all to behold -, its unique collection of ancient statuary, and the world's choicest collection of relics. The course traces the four life cycles of this medieval megalopolis, from Constantine and Justinian's late antique city via its middle (c.750-1204) and late Byzantine (1261-1453) incarnations to the Ottoman conquest in 1453 plus subsequent transformation into an Islamic capital. Participants will become familiar with both textual and material sources on Constantinople's history; all written sources will be provided in English translation. |
| Course description |
Byzantium - renamed Constantinople by its founder, Emperor Constantine I, called Konstantiniye by its Ottoman conquerors and nowadays known as Istanbul (from Greek eis ten polin, 'into the city') - proved one of history's more important stages. Variously hailed as the 'New Rome', the 'New Jerusalem' or the 'Queen of Cities' and strategically situated on the Bosphorus, it became the 'bridge' from Asia to Europe; at the same time, it guarded the passage from the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara and on to the Mediterranean (and vice-versa). More than once the Byzantine empire's survival depended on the city's strong walls, completed under Emperor Theodosios II in the early fifth century. Ultimately conquered twice, in 1204 when the city was looted by the Venetians and knights of the Fourth Crusade and in 1453 by Mehmed II 'the Conqueror', Constantine's city remains a megalopolis ('mega-city') to the present day.
The course introduces participants to various aspects of life in the Byzantine capital and, in doing so, to a variety of approaches to (medieval) urban history. We shall examine the city's topography, demography and imperial programmes of creating a residence and capital of unrivalled splendour: both in terms of ideology (seven hills for the New Rome, legends of apostolic foundation) and of physical, material embellishment. We shall explore hygiene (bathing) and healthcare in the wake of sporadic outbreaks of the bubonic plague, from the sixth through the eighth centuries, as well as the damage caused by severe earthquakes and harsh winters. The course examines practical issues such as provisioning a medieval megalopolis with water, grain, vegetables and meat. It traces the origins and development of the city's spiritual life through the analysis of urban liturgies, processions and surviving monuments; Constantinople's political role as the centre of a - in medieval terms - highly centralised polity, the Eastern Roman/Byzantine empire; and its cultural life as a centre of artistic production and learning. Finally, one of the sessions explores political, cultural and ideological continuities and changes from the Byzantines to the new Ottoman rulers.
Methodologically, we shall address the challenge of reconstructing medieval Constantinople from highly rhetoricised source texts on the one hand and accessible archaeological remains on the other. Medieval texts describing the city and its monuments were (mostly) written by Byzantine literati in an elaborate register of classicising Greek and follow their own rhetorical rules, and often refuse to offer us straightforward information; and given the city's continuous settlement history that precludes large-scale excavations, archaeological data are comparatively sparse.
Over the course of term, we shall typically discuss the following topics:
Biography of the city
1. The birth of a capital: the New Rome from Constantine to Justinian I
2. Diseases, disasters and crises (from Herakleios to Iconoclasm)
3. The New Jersualem: the city's sacred topography in the early and middle periods
4. Komnenian transformations and the Fourth Crusade
5. Imperial transitions from the Palaiologoi to the Ottoman sultans
Reconstructing the city
6.-7. Reconstruction exercises - bringing Byzantine and early Ottoman
Constantinople to life from the written and archaeological evidence
Experiencing the city - voices from Byzantine and early Ottoman Constantinople
8. Women and children, officials and eunuchs, teachers and students
9. Merchants and tradespeople (provisioning the city: water, grain & vegetables, livestock)
10. Monks, nuns and pilgrims (and other travellers and foreigners)
11. Concluding discussion
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2026/27, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 0 |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 22,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
174 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Coursework:
'Reconstruction' exercise: individual part of a group presentation accompanied by detailed slides and/or a handout (40%)
'Voice' exercise: a 10-minute first-person perspective on life in the Byzantine or early Ottoman city with handout and/or slides to be developed into a c. 1,500-word A1 poster (60%) |
| Feedback |
Students will receive immediate feedback in classroom conversations and written feedback on their oral presentations and submitted coursework, and will have the opportunity to discuss that feedback further with the Course Organiser during their drop-in hours or by appointment. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- demonstrate a detailed and critical command of the sources of the late antique, medieval and early modern history of Contantinople
- analyse and reflect critically upon relevant scholarship, primary source materials, and conceptual approaches considered in the course
- understand and apply specialised research or professional skills, techniques and practices to the variety of primary source material (medieval texts of different genres; material evidence: art, architecture, archaeology; coins; seals) considered in the course
- develop and sustain original scholarly arguments in oral and written form, by independently formulating appropriate questions and utilising relevant evidence considered in the course, and demonstrate originality and independence of mind and initiative; intellectual integrity and maturity; an ability to evaluate the work of others, including peers; and a considerable degree of autonomy
- conduct a sustained individual enquiry into a particular aspect of the topic.
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Reading List
1. Bassett, S. (2004) The Urban Image of Late Antique Constantinople (Cambridge)
2. Dagron, G. (1984a) Naissance d'une capitale: Constantinople et ses institutions de 330 a 451 (Paris)
3. Dagron, G. (1984b) Constantinople imaginaire: etudes sur le recueil des 'Patria' (Paris)
4. Grig, L. and Kelly, G. (eds) Two Romes: From Rome to Constantinople (Oxford - New York)
5. Hatlie, P. (2007) The Monks and Monastries of Constantinople, ca. 350 - 850 (Cambridge)
6. Magdalino, P. (2007) Studies on the History and Topography of Byzantine Constantinople
7. Mango, C. and Dagron G. (eds) (1995) Constantinople and its Hinterland: Papers from the Twenty-seventh Spring Symposium of Byzantine Studies, Oxford, April 1993 (Aldershot)
8. Mullett, M. (1984) 'Aristocracy and Patronage in the Literary Circles of Comnenian Constantinople', in Angold, M. (ed.), The Byzantine Aristocracy, IX-XIII Centuries (Oxford), 173 - 201
9. Necipoglu, G. (1991) Architecture, Ceremonial and Power: The Topkapi Palace in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries (Cambridge, Mass.)
10. Necipoglu, N. (ed.) (2001) Byzantine Constantiople: Monuments, Topography and Everyday Life (Leiden)
11. Ousterhout, R. G. (1999) Master Builders of Byzantium (Princeton)
12. Talbot, A.M. (1993) 'The Restauration of Constantinople under Michael VIII', Dumbarton Oaks Papers 47: 243 - 61 |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
In addition to the course specific skills that the students will acquire, they will also show through the assessed pieces of work and the presentation that they are required to give in Semester 1:
- Enhancement of written and oral communication skills
- Refinement of observational skills
- Ability to research defined topics independently
- Library research skills
- Visual memory skills
- Presentational skills
- Analytical skills relating to analysis of primary and secondary evidence |
| Keywords | Constantinople,Medieval,Megaolopolis |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Prof Niels Gaul
Tel: (0131 6)50 3776
Email: N.Gaul@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Bronte Bishop
Tel:
Email: bbishop@ed.ac.uk |
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